Friday, November 19, 2010

Here is something I have come to understand: in this day and age, you need not to wait until your birthday, New Year’s Day, or any other day to renew a passion or a resolution that you may have started, thought that you wanted to start, or maybe even just thought of. I believe that the word of God declares that “NOW is the acceptable time”. In other words, there is no time like the present. Charles Buxton once said, “You will never find time. If you want time, you must make it.”

That quote is truest in this era. We have become so busy that people often say they need more than 24 hours to accomplish all that they need in a day. Technology has become so advanced that we are able to program DVR’s from our phones……we can keep up with the latest news, gossip, etc. via Facebook, Twitter, and other applications. However, we somehow have lost touch with the outside world. Vacations are used to catch up on business, the Xbox, Playstation, and the Wii has taken the place of going to the beach and local amusement parks. Family time consists of instant messaging and playing games on cell phones at the dinner table.

Where has the time gone? I challenge you to make the time to do what you have set out to do. If you want to lose weight, commit at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Doctors conclude that devoting at least that much time a day, 3-4 days a week will steer you in the right path. So many other things have taken a back seat due to the excuse that there is not enough time. Stop complaining about you not having time. If you want to do something you set out to do, and I mean really set your heart and mind to it, you will do like Charles Buxton said and “make time”.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Mistakes happen……point blank. Name me one person who has never made a mistake!? There is only one man, and his name is Jesus. I will never understand for the life of me how one can justly “cast stones” at someone when they themselves have their own closets that are full of only God knows what!

What gets me most is that these people are the so called “people of God”. They are quick to throw the line of, “I am not judging, but I am just saying…..”. If I am not mistaken, as soon as you utter the word “but”, do you not erase everything that you previously stated? So not only are you passing judgment, but you are assuming a position that is only designed for God himself. Then wonder why no one can notice the change in your walk, your talk, your relationship with Christ. You wonder why you are seemingly going around and around in circles…..you yourself are walking around in judgment because best believe that the same measure that you are judging with is the same measure that you are being judged with.

When will we fully learn to live what we preach…..forgiveness. There is a quote that declares, “To err is human, but to forgive is divine”. We say we want to be like Christ, but we don’t want to do what He has instructed. Can we really tell our brother…..our sister that it is alright…..it’s ok? You messed up, but the grace of God is sufficient unto thee?

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Looking at the present world as it is today, I cannot help but to ask this question to some people today……where exactly is your head? In other words, can you tell me exactly what it is that you are thinking? For those who may not understand what I am talking about, let me explain.

There isn’t one day that goes by, and I am sure that you witness the same thing, that I do not see a young man with his pants below the allotted waist line, a young lady with clothes so tight that you can see every organ and vein in her body performing its function through her outfit. I see tricked-out and “pimped out” rides, but if I go ask the brother where he lives; he says his mom’s house. I see young mothers whose hair is “popped”, but her children are still in their pajamas. Or a young man bragging about how many women he has slept with, but has no idea how many kids he may have.

So again I ask, and allow me to rephrase the question: What is most important to you? Can it be the famed money, power, and respect? To earn the three, you must give them as well. You must spend money to make money, and I am not just talking about investment. It takes money to get gas in the car to go fill out the application of the job you want to get. It takes money to buy the groceries to cook the food that people eat, and then say you need to start your own catering business. To earn power, you must learn to be subjected to it…..in other words, if someone has authority over you, you must learn to give away your pride, your selfishness, your own personal views and submit until you are put in a position that power can be entrusted to you. I am reminded of a line from a movie that declared that “with great power comes great responsibility”. Power doesn’t make you great……WIELDING that power is what makes you great. Lastly, to get respect you MUST give it. There is no way you can take respect. It must be given, and it must be earned. If you cannot respect one of the most important people in life, that person being YOU, you will never receive the respect that you seek.

Monday, November 1, 2010

There was a recent event that I heard of that has left me speechless, hence the title of this particular blog. I have a very good friend of mine who was a member of a great church for 3 years. The pastor is a very good friend of his that has proven to be an outstanding preacher and a sort of big brother/father figure since the passing of his birth father 6 years ago. My friend was an associate minister for the church and was also the church musician. They have long history together and share a wonderful friendship.

Just recently, my friend decided that, along with his wife, it was time for them to leave the ministry as they felt they were being led of God. My friend drafted a letter and sent it to the pastor of the church expressing his feelings about various issues, none demeaning or destructive in any way. He expressed how much he loves and appreciates the pastor and his wife, and that they have taught them so much throughout their time there. He reiterated the order of life as taught by the pastor: God, then family, then the church. He wrote that he must do what is in the best interest of his family, meaning his wife. This was done not to appease his wife, but was done out of agreement between the two of them that this move was not only led of God, but best for the both of them.

Not even a few hours after he sent the letter to the Pastor, he was on Facebook and found that one of his the people on his friends’ list drafted a mock letter and put it on the Pastor’s wall. In the letter, he accused my friend of stabbing the pastor in the back, wanting to be “babied”, and a few other disturbing sentences. What made it even sadder was that he included direct phrases contained in the letter that was sent to the pastor, using them as if importance was not an issue. The icing on the cake!? The individual who drafted the mock letter is also an associate minister of the same congregation, and a spiritual son of the pastor. Is this how we really respond to saints trying to fulfill the will of God? Is this how we support the elect in finishing the race? Why was this letter even in the presence of this individual!!!! And we wonder why some churches have “revolving” doors and “join this week and leave the next” saints!

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Brotha Magazine specifically targets the African American male committed to a Christian lifestyle. Brotha magazine is intended as an empowerment tool to comprehensively address, without restrictions, complex issues providing resources to resolve any of life challenges.